While You Were Stalking
by BittersweetSonata
Summary: Gray 'asks Lucy out', and all hell breaks loose. Natsu, absolutely pissed, asks Juvia to join him in stalking the two. Little does anyone know what's really going on.
1. Chapter 1

**I've had this planned out for a while now, but first, I must say something about the newest manga chapter. Isn't 'little Erza' adorable?! So kawaii~! And, I love it where she's thinking, and her thought train is like, about how she _must _get back to normal! Especially the one about Jellal~! Anyway, so this story, yeah.  
**

** Oh, and, I love Gray. "We're not just some random wizards." *holds up Moon Drip* "Tadan. It's called Ice Make Thief's Hand." I just cracked up. **

** And, KID NATSU?! WHAT?! Kawaii, though. **

** It's not as good as it should be, but whatever. It'll also only be two or three more chapters. So it's not one of my long ones. Just a fun little thing for me to play with when I have writer's block, as I do now. **

** So yeah. **

** Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail or any of it's associated characters or themes. They belong to the awesome Hiro Mashima. **

** Read on~! **

Chapter One

Superstition

* * *

_{I might drive myself insane, if those lips aren't speaking my name} _

* * *

It was a bright, beautiful, and sunny day in Magnolia, and no one could have ever imagined what the day would actually turn out to be: a disaster. But to get to that part of the story, we have to start at the very beginning. So, without further ado, here it is.

* * *

Lucy Heartfilia sat up in bed, yawned and stretched, then smiled. Why? Because today was going to be a wonderful day! She swung her legs over the bed, and her bare feet hit the floor. The blonde wandered over to her bathroom, and began to run some hot water for her bath. Did she ever mention how much she loved taking baths?

A lot.

Lucy chuckled to herself as Plue stumbled into the room, still half asleep. She leaned down and patted his head when he attached himself firmly to her leg, probably to steady his body. He blinked sleepily at her.

She picked him up and set him in the water. "There you go Plue. A bath always helps me wake up in the morning, and relax at night."

After stripping herself of her clothes, she dipped one foot into the water and stirred it around. Deciding it was the perfect temperature, she slid into the tub, and let out a satisfied groan.

She really, _really_, loved taking a bath.

Once she had finished up, and had lifted Plue-turned-prune out of the water, she wrapped a towel around herself and made her way back to her room to get dressed and ready for the day. Her white Nikola spirit ambled along behind her, shaking like normal. Lucy pulled some undergarments out of her dresser drawer, as well as a black mini-skirt and pink lacy tank top. After slipping on her undergarments, she put on her skirt, and was getting ready to pull her shirt over her head. She'd made it half-way, before a voice stopped her.

"Mornin' Luce."

Lucy froze, still in the position to pull her shirt down over her bare stomach and slightly covered chest. That voice...that nickname...she hurriedly tugged her shirt on the rest of the way before turning and coming face-to-face with her partner, and best friend, Natsu Dragneel. His spiky pink hair was even messier, if possible, he was missing his shirt and shoes, and he still looked half asleep. So...in other words, he looked incredibly hot and tempting at that moment.

The blonde flushed and her eyes widened. "N-Natsu?!"

He raised a brow, and Lucy wanted to jump out the window. This was too much. "Who else would it be?" he yawned, and brought a hand up to cover his open mouth.

Lucy felt herself instantly blush. "W-wha-?"

Natsu cut her off by pulling the blonde into a hug, pressing her flush up against his bare chest. He buried his face into the crook of her neck and inhaled her scent. Lucy felt her body get a little too warm. Of course, that might have just been from Natsu's unusual warmth, but she didn't think so, because his warmth always felt nice. She knew this was because she was nervous and blushing.

She cautiously put her hands on his bare back, and felt him tense slightly, only to relax a second later. The blonde almost fainted when she felt his well-proclaimed muscles move under her small hands.

Good Mavis. This boy was going to be the death of her.

"Mmm. Luce, you smell _so good._" he mumbled against her neck.

Oh please. Just kill her now.

Where was Aquarius when you actually needed her?

"Pu-un! Pun!"

Natsu pulled back to look at the small celestial spirit who was tugging on Lucy's leg. The blonde silently thanked the heavens, before picking up the Nikola. "Hey Plue, what is it, buddy?" she asked.

"Pun! Pu-un! Puun!" he 'replied.'

Natsu seemed confused for a moment, before grinning and patting him on the head. "You're right, Plue! We're late to get to the guild!"

Lucy cleared her throat nervously as she watched her partner slip on his sandals and attempt to climb out the window. "U-uh, Natsu?"

He turned to look at her. "Yeah Luce?"

She pointed to a discarded article of clothing lying on the floor. "Y-your shirt."

"Oh!"

* * *

Mira watched the blonde who was currently face-planting the bar counter with interest. But then again, she was also pretty concerned, because, right after she'd arrived with Natsu and Plue, the celestial mage had walked over to the bar, and slammed her head into it. And she had stayed that way ever since. Levy was also concerned for her best friend, who hadn't spoken a word since she had arrived.

"Lucy, are you alright?" the barmaid asked, leaning over the counter.

The blonde lifted her head. "I don't know, Mira." she groaned.

Levy marked her book. "What's wrong, Lu-chan?"

"Natsu."

Ah. That actually made a lot more sense than it was really supposed to.

Mira smiled in sympathy. "Was he in your bed again?"

Lucy threw her hands in the air. "That's not the problem anymore! He's going to kill me, Mira!"

Both the bluenette and the barmaid gasped at her words. "W-what?!"

Lucy put her hands down. "Wait, that may have come out wrong." she sighed and waved them closer. Both girls leaned in eagerly. "What I mean is," she whispered, barely audible, "you both know I like him, right?" they both nodded. "Well, I've pretty much gotten used to him sleeping in my bed." she paused. "...I think. Anyway, I forgot about him this morning, and ended up changing in front of him." this brought gasps from her audience of two. "I'm pretty sure he was asleep until I was ready to put on my shirt, but still!" her whispers were desperate now. "Then he came over and embraced me! Not just hugged me, 'embraced me!' As in, like how lovers and couples and married people do!" she laid her head on her arms. "I don't know what to do anymore."

Mira and Levy looked at her in sympathy. Levy put a comforting hand on the blonde's back. "Don't feel bad, Lu-chan."

Said girl whimpered and sighed. "It's just, I love him." they barely caught that last part. "But he's just so _dense_!"

* * *

"Are you ever going to tell her?" Gajeel asked as he munched on an old spoon.

Natsu glared at him. "Shut the hell up."

His fellow Dragon Slayer didn't look the least bit insulted or scared. "I'm just saying, if you don't do it soon, some wuss is going to come along and steal her from you." he shrugged. "Then what will you do?"

Natsu scowled at his fire chicken and sighed. "It's not that simple."

Gajeel shoved the rest of the spoon into his mouth. "I don't see why it has to be so complicated, idiot."

Natsu directed his deadly gaze toward him. "Yes. And that's why you haven't already told Levy."

That shut him up _real _nice.

* * *

"Hey Lucy?"

All three girls looked up to see a shirtless Gray standing there, looking a little anxious. The blonde in question leaned her head against her fist. "Yes, Gray?"

He nervously fiddled with the belt loops on his pants. "I was wondering...would you come out to lunch with me, today?"

The whole guild went silent. Why? Because Gray Fullbuster had just technically asked Lucy Heartfilia out on a date.

Erza dropped her fork, Elfman and Evergreen stopped arguing, Gajeel choked on his spoon, Cana spit out the large swig of alcohol she had just taken, Wendy looked up wide-eyed from the picture she was coloring, Charla, Happy, and Panther Lily put a halt to their conversation, Mira started to tear up, Lisanna dropped the glass she had been cleaning, Bixlow stopped teasing Evergreen and Elfman, Laxus and Makarov stared, Levy dropped her book, Juvia felt her heart break in two, and Natsu?

Natsu snapped the fork he was holding in half and ground his teeth.

Lucy blinked and a small smile spread over her face. "Sure."

Mira ran out of the room and burst into tears, a frantic Lisanna following close behind to try and console her hysteric older sister. Gajeel started to pound himself on the back because he had swallowed the rest of the spoon whole and it had gone down the wrong pipe. Cana started to frantically consult her cards. Wendy furiously scribbled out of the lines on her picture of Natsu, Lucy, Happy, Charla, and herself. Happy started to freak out, while Charla and Lily tried to calm him down. Elfman and Evergreen started to argue about whether Lucy should be with Natsu or Gray (they both agreed Natsu), Bixlow then began to tease them again. Laxus and Makarov started to panic, because, an unhappy Natsu was a very destructive Natsu. Levy became aware of the guild suspiciously flooding. And Natsu was ready to rip Gray in half and burn his body to ashes.

Gray smiled in relief. "Great."

Lucy nodded. "Hey, it's almost lunch time now, should we go?"

He offered her an arm and the two walked out.

"Gray?"

"Yeah?"

"Your shirt."

"Shit!"

Natsu stalked over to where Juvia was hiding in one of the darker corners of the guild. His scowl could have scared Zeref. "Juvia." he growled.

The bluenette looked up and quickly forced a smile, hurriedly drying her eyes with her sleeve. "N-Natsu-san! H-how can Juvia help you?"

He pulled her up off of the floor and crossed his arms. "We're going to follow them."

Juvia's eyes widened. "B-but-"

"You've done that before, right?" he questioned. She nodded. "Good, We're going."

And he dragged her out of the guild after the other two.

* * *

Laxus and Makarov had joined in with Lisanna trying to calm the hysterical Mira-jane down.

"Uh, there there?" the blonde awkwardly patted her back.

"Hug her!" his grandfather demanded.

The blonde scowled at him. "That's asking too much!"

"They aren't supposed to be together!" Mira wailed. "Lucy loves Natsu! Not Gray!"

Lisanna nodded and hugged her sister. "Yes, Mira-nee, we know. We know."

Erza cracked her knuckles. "_Gray._" she growled. "What are you _doing_?"

Because, after all, he loved Juvia, not Lucy.

Of course, no one except the aforementioned ice make mage knew what was _really _going on. And soon, Lucy was going to know, too.

* * *

**A horrible start, really. Oh, and, about Wendy. She was drawing and coloring a picture of them all together, because I like to think she regards them all as older siblings (not Happy), if you get it. And she knows, like everyone else, that the two should be together. **

** This IS a NaLu and Gruvia story, by the way. With implied or hinted Jerza, GaLe, and RoWen. **

** Sorry if I didn't get all of the Fairy Tail gang in there, because it would have taken forever to write them all. **

** Has anyone heard 'The Long Haul' by No? I love that song! As well as 'Youth' by Daughter! **

** Until next time, **

** Ja Ne~! **

** - Sonata-chan **


	2. Sympathy

**You all seemed to enjoy the first chapter of this, and I have writer's block, so I thought, "Eh, why not?" and here's the second chapter! **

** But first, I must take a moment to gush about kid Natsu. Kawaii~! He's so damn adorable~! Imagine what Lucy will do when she sees him! I would immediately hug him tightly to my chest. Because he's just so utterly cute! Melt. If I was there in real life, I would melt. **

** Okay, now that _that's _over, shall we get on with it? I bet you're ready to read the newest chapter. **

** So go ahead. **

** Fuel your NaLu cravings. **

Chapter Two

Sympathy

* * *

_{Would you swear that you'll always be mine?} _

* * *

Lucy sipped on her pink strawberry lemonade and looked up at the very nervous Gray sitting across from her. She raised a brow, wondering why he kept looking behind him, or over his shoulder. He tugged at the collar of his shirt, already having undone several buttons.

"Gray...are you alright?" she asked, slightly concerned for her friend.

He looked over at her, his distress blindingly obvious. "Lucy...do you ever feel like...like you're constantly being watched?"

The blonde really didn't know how to respond to that. "Uh...I'm not...sure."

Gray popped an ice cube from his drink into his mouth and finished unbuttoning his shirt all the way. "Because, I feel it." he paused. "All the _time._"

Lucy drummed her fingers on the glass table they were sitting at outside of the restaurant. "Well, if I've learned anything from being in Fairy Tail," she paused, and Gray leaned in slightly, anticipating her response, "you know, I really don't know what it's like. I'm sorry."

Gray fell forward and face-planted the table.

He shifted so that his face was buried in his arms, and moved just a little so that he could look up at her. "Okay. Well, I guess you're probably wondering why I asked you to lunch."

Lucy shrugged and popped a french fry into her mouth. "Eh, I wasn't really going to complain, regardless of your intentions. I mean hey, free food! Who would turn that down?" she propped her head on her hand. "Although, yeah, I was kind of wondering why you asked me out to lunch so suddenly, and especially in the middle of the guild."

Gray tossed his shirt aside, unconsciously of course, but Lucy caught it midair and waited for him to continue. He sighed, and motioned for her to lean closer. She did as she was told, and he leaned down and started to whisper into her ear.

* * *

Across the street, up in a tree, hidden by the numerous branches and leaves, sat Natsu and Juvia. After Natsu had dragged a rather and strangely reluctant Juvia out of the guild and after the celestial and ice mages, they had ended up following them to a nice small cafe. And they (meaning Natsu) may or may have not left a trail of destruction in their (once again, meaning Natsu) wake.

So here they were, watching the two sitting outside the cafe.

Which Juvia seriously worried might be burned to the ground any second.

"N-Natsu-san?" the water woman asked, tugging on said Dragon Slayer's scarf. "Maybe you and Juvia should go back to the guild?"

He turned around, his death glare making her shriek and shrink back in terror. He blinked, then realized he had scared her. Natsu ran a hand through his unruly pink hair and sighed. "It's just..." he trailed off, not really knowing how to put his feelings into words.

Juvia smiled softly and put a pale hand on his shoulder. "Juvia completely understands how Natsu-san feels." she looked away from him. "B-but," she turned back, steeling her resolve, "if Gray-sama truly wishes to be with Lucy-san, then Juvia is...Juvia will be...Juvia is okay with that."

Natsu patted her head, much to the blunette's surprise, and turned back to watching the two across the street. "Juvia, why do you love that Stripper so much? Even when he's never even shown you any of the same kind of affection?"

Fairy Tail's resident water mage blinked in surprise at his question. "W-well," she wondered how in the world she was supposed to answer such a question in the first place, "Gray-sama made the rain stop." Natsu glanced at her incredulously. "Gray-sama has saved Juvia so many times, and," she smiled, "Gray-sama is cool. And Gray-sama cares."

Natsu rubbed the back of his neck. "Huh."

Juvia twiddled with her fingers, before looking up bashfully through her long lashes. "If Natsu-san doesn't mind Juvia asking, Juvia would like to know why you love Lucy-san so much."

The fire Dragon Slayer's lips twitched upward into a small smile at the sound of the celestial mage's name. "Luce is...weird." at his statement, Juvia sweat-dropped. "But...that's okay. If she wasn't, she wouldn't be _Lucy. _She's just," he paused, trying to think of the right words, "so bubbly, and happy, and strong, and brave, and smart." he grinned. "And she can really throw a good 'Lucy-Kick!' too." he closed his eyes. "And her bed feels _so good_."

Juvia sweat-dropped again, and put a hand to her cheek. "Natsu-san really does love Lucy-san, doesn't he?"

His onyx eyes opened and wandered back to Lucy and Gray, the latter of which was currently whispering something, which were what both 'stalkers' assumed were sweet nothings, into the blonde celestial mage's ear, to which she was smiling brightly.

"Yeah." he replied, sounding breathless. "I guess I do."

* * *

Lucy listened intently as Gray 'dished' out his deepest and darkest secrets to her. No, no. Just kidding. But what he was really telling her could have easily been his deepest and darkest secret.

"It's just, Erza was telling me that I need to tell her how I feel, but I just..." he sighed, "...I don't know how. I really do love her and all, tell anyone and I'll make sure Natsu manages to break into your house _every_ night for the next two years, but I don't know how to tell her! Isn't this kind of shit supposed to be simple?!" the ice make mage whispered harshly into her ear.

In all honesty, Lucy was having a hard time not cracking up right then and there. Across the street, where their two 'stalkers' were watching from a tree, they both assumed she was blushing, when in reality, she was just about to suffocate from lack of air due to holding her breath so she wouldn't burst into loud laughter.

Gray was really, really unnerved by this, and she decided she would help him. That _was _what he asked her to lunch for after all. The blonde giggled, and brought a hand up to her mouth before turning and since he wanted to keep all of this quiet, whispered into his ear.

"Alright, alright. I'll help you, okay? But I want something in return."

His brows creased. "What?"

A small smile pulled at her lips, and she blushed just a bit. "I want you to help me confess to N-Natsu."

Gray immediately jerked back and looked at her in shock, before grinning widely at her. "I knew it! I knew it! I told them all, but they didn't believe me!"

Lucy slapped a hand over the shirtless mage's mouth and blushed. "W-what are you talking about?!" she whispered/hissed harshly.

"I told Wakama and Macow and Gasheel that you were in wove wif Nachoo." he replied through her hand.

The blonde quickly pulled her hand away and wiped it on her shirt. "Ew! You got spit on it! Gross!"

Gray shrugged. "You were the one that put it there in the first place. Next time, don't ask me a question when you do such a thing."

She rolled her eyes. "Alright, lover-boy. Here," she tossed him his shirt, "put on your missing clothes and let's go."

He caught the shirt and slipped it on. "Shit! How'd that happen?!"

Lucy shrugged. "Honestly, I don't even question it anymore. Nor does it bother me." she stopped and blinked, a disturbed expression crossing her face. "Is that a bad thing?"

Gray paid for their meal and jogged to catch up with the blonde who was already walking down the street. "Okay, so, what do we do first?" he questioned, falling into rhythm with her step.

Lucy tapped her chin. "Well, you should take her somewhere nice. Like the cafe we just had lunch at, or the Rainbow Sakura Festival!" she smiled, the fond memories of Natsu high-jacking a sakura tree just for her flooding her mind.

Gray tapped her on the shoulder. "Yo, Earthland to Lucy. The Sakura Festival isn't for another three months. I wasn't really planning on waiting that long."

The blonde blinked, Gray's statement breaking her out of her reverie. "Oh. Right. Okay, then, just take her somewhere like the cafe. On a date, you know." she shook a finger at him. "Girls like to be treated nicely, so make sure you dress up since it's a special occasion! And," she paused and caught his shirt that was flying her direction and threw it back to him, a smirk on her face, "try not to strip."

He cursed again, buttoning the aforementioned article of clothing back up and jamming his hands deep into his pockets.

Natsu and Juvia followed along close behind, but cautiously. So basically, they were ducking behind anything and everything that they possibly could. The two had followed Lucy and Gray after they had left the cafe, and had managed to make it this far without much trouble.

If you didn't count Juvia falling out of the tree and landing on Natsu as trouble.

But other than that, they had stalked without much problem, although they were getting several weird looks from the townspeople, not that they noticed. It was loud around them, as it was lunch hour, and Magnolia was bustling.

Natsu distinctly caught the words 'Sakura Festival', and 'date', on Lucy's part, and Gray's phrase of 'I wasn't really planning on waiting that long.' to which he scowled. His keen Dragon Slayer senses were really, really good, but if he was being distracted and pushed and pulled to and fro, as well as with all that constant chatter of the townspeople, it was hard to hear correctly.

Juvia glanced up and noticed his dark look. She frowned slightly. "Natsu-san, what did you hear?"

He briefly looked down at her before trying to keep his eyes trained on the 'couple' in front of him. "She wants him to take her on a date to the Rainbow Sakura Festival, but he said he wasn't planning on waiting that long."

The water mage looked crestfallen, and he felt sorry for repeating the words back to her. Natsu quickly grabbed her hand and pulled her along with him, darting and dodging through the large crowds after the blonde and ice mage.

"Right." Gray repeated. "So no stripping."

Lucy started to laugh. "I mean, I guess it's fine, but you're less likely to get kicked out of a nice restaurant if you don't strip."

He scowled and looked away. "Tch. Whatever."

She smiled, still giggling. "Hey, Gray, it'll be fine. Do you know how happy Juvia will be when you finally confess to her?" she asked, eyes sparkling. She twirled a strand of blonde hair around her forefinger. "Not to mention the field day Mira's going to have."

Gray sighed and clasped his hands behind his head. "Yeah, well, it's easier said than done."

Lucy waved a hand. "No worries. I'm here to help, remember?" she flashed him a bright smile, and he swore he almost went blind. "As long as you'll help me with Natsu, anyway."

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. No problem. If it comes down to it, I'll just beat some sense into him."

The blonde led him to the park, where they sat down on a bench. Lucy clasped her hands. "Okay! So you have two objectives! Try not to strip, and decide where you're going to take her!"

Gray nodded. "Okay. I can do that."

Lucy raised a brow at him dubiously and held up his pants. "Are you absolutely sure of that?"

He immediately looked down to see that he was indeed, pantless, and quickly grabbed his dark jeans dangling from the blonde's grasp. "Seriously! How does this _happen_?!"

She rolled her eyes before crossing her arms. "Now, we're going to work on confessing, okay?"

Gray gave her a weird look. "Wait, what?"

The blonde celestial mage sighed and held up her hands. "I'll pretend I'm Juvia, you confess to me. And then you'll pretend you're Natsu, and I'll confess to you. It's that simple!"

He nodded. "Okay. I think I can do this."

Lucy gave him a small smile. "Good because, I'm not even really Juvia, and if you can't _confess _to me, then imagine what you'll have to go through to confess to _her._"

Gray paled. "Well...that's encouraging."

She waved a hand. "Okay, okay. Enough. Now, let's do this!" she smiled. "Hey Gray-sama!"

He took a deep breath. "I have something to say." she nodded, encouraging him to continue. "I've felt this way for a long time, but I've just been too afraid to say it." he shot her a dirty look. "Tell Natsu, and I'll freeze your room over." he threatened. "But I just can't keep it inside me anymore, or else I'm going to go crazy." he paused, then steeled his resolve. "What I want to say is, I love you, and I have for a long time."

Lucy smiled brightly at him, and took him completely off guard by tackling him in a hug. "I love you too!" she cried.

Natsu and Juvia arrived at the park just in time to hear the last part of the conversation. So to them, it sounded and looked like this:

Gray looked at Lucy nervously. "But I just can't keep it inside me anymore, or I'll go crazy." he paused for a moment, and the blonde leaned in, looking eager to hear what he was about to say. "What I want to say is, I love you, and I have for a long time." he finished, unconsciously throwing his shirt over his shoulder.

A wide, bright smile spread over Lucy's face, and she immediately hugged him. "I love you too!" she cried, clinging to him and laughing.

Natsu and Juvia's worlds instantly shattered with those words.

* * *

**I'm awful, aren't I? Gomen, but seriously. I'm really enjoying writing this story. **

** It's so much fun~! **

** So yeah, I'm going to go watch 'Wreck-It Ralph' now. **

** I love that movie. **

** Until next time, **

** Ja ne~! **

** - Sonata-chan **


End file.
